TIRANA, June 22 /ATA/ – By Maela Marini/ PM Edi Rama stated on Monday that “the Vote of emigrants is a public programmatic commitment made by us, but in specific conditions when it is necessary to negotiate between three parties, the optimism for its achievement is much smaller than normal.”
PM Rama held a virtual conversation with the Diaspora Coordination Council to discuss the vote of Diaspora in electoral reform.
“The reason for this meeting is to discuss the practical possibilities for voting of Albanian citizens living abroad and of course provide an overview on state of the play and the current circumstances in a broader context that goes beyond this issue,” Rama said.
He stated that “first and foremost, the emigrants’ vote is a programme-based public commitment made by us. Secondly, we have worked in the light of this commitment in parallel with the political process, which for many reasons that we do not need to elaborate, is an overdue process as part of the Electoral Reform with view to next elections ,” – said Rama.
He assured that “we have neither lacked nor lack the political will to achieve this objective, which in our view is of particular importance and is one of the strategic objectives related to the environment and the framework on conduct elections in Albania.”
“I have closely followed all your efforts and discussions and I am glad that the direct contact with the government has not been lacking, as a result of the commitment of Minister Majko. I am sorry that in some way you have questioned our will, which is surmountable and easily explained, ” – Rama said.
The Prime Minister stressed that “we are in the process of an unprecedented Electoral Reform, as today we are not two parties but three parties, and in a way the scene of political parties that need to agree on elections is three-polar.”
“On one hand, it is the parliamentary majority, an extra-parliamentary opposition and another one inside. I emphasize this, that from the arithmetic point of view, the Code and the Electoral Reform as a whole require a qualified majority that we do not have today numerically in the Assembly. From the point of view of tradition, we also want to respect the continuum of a comprehensive process. This process in the current context is about an understanding between 3 parties, on our part as a majority with two other political poles, which despite being the product of the same party or source of selection, show diverging views, ” – said Rama.
PM put the emphasis on importance of understanding based on mutual tolerance among the three parties,
“When it comes to the vote of immigrants, there is no disagreement, but it is not that we agree at the moment because the devil is always in the details. In principle, there is no party that says we do not want the emigrants to vote, but when it comes to how to vote and the opportunities available, the opportunities are very limited. The process has been quite tricky and conflicting, and sitting at the table for this reform has been delayed. In specific conditions, when it is necessary for the three parties to negotiate, the optimism for its achievement is much smaller than normal,” – Rama said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that “we have studied the analysis of voting methods from abroad, but for historical reasons of political conflict we have excluded the possibility of voting at embassies and consulates, which would be a cause for debate and mistrust.”
He said that the opposition in the parliament seems to persists with its demand, we ourselves have made it an objective as well as a political commitment in our program and we are working day to day.
“We are working on an electronic registration option, an option for compatibility between the voter list and the list of interested persons, but it is still early to say whether it is viable on not. I am confident that in one way or another we can embark on this process, why not launch a pilot project,” he said.
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